The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) is seeking to improve the safety of the city’s taxi fleet and has started installing Mobileye, the Israeli accident-avoidance system on all of its cabs, David Shamah reported in The Times of Israel today.

Last week, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Commissioner, Meera Joshi, along with other officials, announced the launch of the TLC’s Vehicle Safety Technology (VST) Pilot Program. Central to that program is the installation of Mobileye systems in cabs, with drivers getting alerts if they get too close to vehicles in front of them, veer out of their lane without signaling, tailgate, etc. …

Mobileye uses a monocular camera, which magnifies images, together with sophisticated software that calibrates how much time a driver needs to brake in order to avoid colliding with the vehicle ahead. If the driver gets too close, an alarm goes off, and in some vehicles, the software is connected to the braking system so that if the driver fails to brake in time, the system does it for him.

The Mobileye Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) also alerts drivers when they come too close to pedestrians and when they veer out of their lane, and new versions of the system can also detect cyclists, debris on the road, curbs, barriers and constructions zones, and can also detect traffic lights and can even read signs.

The safety program is part of an initiative of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to reduce accidents as much as possible.

Last year, Mobileye’s initial public offering raised a record $890 million. In addition to the installation of the Mobileye system on New York City taxis, the company says the system will be incorporated in 237 car models by the end of 2016.

[Photo: Stig Nygaard / Flickr ]